Professional Notes

Dr. Thomas Carey, International Student Services, gave a presentation at the Region III conference of NAFSA: Association of International Educators Nov. 5 in Oklahoma City. Carey’s presentation was part of a workshop, "F-1 Regulations for Beginners," that provided information for 50 international student advisers from Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana. His presentations centered on the legal terminology, travel documents required for international students, responsibilities of an approved school’s designated school official, and procedures for international students to transfer from one school to another. Carey also gave a presentation at a session on "Immigration as a Second Language."

Dr. Mel Gray, Economics Department, wrote a sidebar, "The Philistine Outside the Cathedral," for December issue of Minnesota Monthly. The article is part of a feature on arts funding.

Dr. Meg Wilkes Karraker, Sociology Department, and Jillian Berg, senior sociology major, served on the Program Committee for the Minnesota Council on Family Relations, which met Dec. 6 at the University of Minnesota.

Dr. Mitchell Kusy, Organization Learning and Development Department, was the featured speaker last month at Leadership Coachella Valley, a conference of executives in Palm Springs, Calif. The title of Kusy’s address was "21st-Century Leadership: Communicating With Pizzazz!"

Neil Hamilton, School of Law, has been selected as one of Minnesota Lawyer’s 10 "Attorneys of the Year" for 2002. The criteria for selection as an "attorney of the year" included leadership in the profession, involvement in major cases or other newsworthy events during the year, and performance of significant public service. Nominations were made by bar association representatives, judges, leading practitioners and other members of the legal community. Final selections were made by the Minnesota Lawyer editorial staff. Hamilton will be profiled in an upcoming issue of Minnesota Lawyer and receive his award at a Jan. 30 banquet.

Dr. Thomas Hickson, Geology Department, is the author of an article, "Assembling the Stratigraphic Record: Depositional Patterns and Time-Scales in an Experimental Alluvial Basin," in Basin Research, Vol. 14, 2002. This peer-reviewed journal article, co-authored with Ben Sheets and Dr. Chris Paola, University of Minnesota, presents the results of research conducted at the National Center for Earth Surface Dynamics at the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory of the University of Minnesota. Using an experimental sedimentary basin, the authors successfully linked detailed processes of river behavior to the types of sedimentary rocks they produce. The results of this research have important implications for earth scientists interested in deciphering the detailed history of earth’s environments, as well as for hydrogeologists and petroleum geologists who attempt to unravel the controls on aquifer geometry.

Dr. Thomas Musil, Shenehon Center for Real Estate Education, has been named as a Distinguished Fellow of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties. NAIOP Distinguished Fellows serve as a bridge between the practicing commercial real estate community and the academic community. Fellows contribute articles to Development magazine and to the NAIOP Web site, give presentations, participate on committees, and provide advice, feedback and information regarding research on commercial real estate. Musil’s appointment runs until 2005; NAIOP provides fellows a $2,500 stipend.

Dr. Pamela Nice, Faculty Development Center, produced a documentary, "Letter From Cairo," that was selected for the Film Festival of the Middle Eastern Studies Association conference last month in Washington, D.C. The documentary also was chosen by two regional National Endowment for the Humanities Middle Eastern studies resource centers, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Arizona, to be part of their film collections. The documentary, which Nice filmed and directed, was a series of interviews of Egyptian artists, intellectuals and development workers last January. They reflected on their views of America and Americans, Islam, terrorism and the obstacles to better understanding between their culture and the United States.

Dr. Nick Nissley, Organization Learning and Development Department, is the author of "Fictionalization and Imaginative Restoryation: Storytelling Techniques to Enhance Organizational Effectiveness," in the forthcoming Orchestrating Collaboration at Work: Using Music, Improv, Storytelling and Other Arts to Improve Teamwork, edited by A. VanGundy and L. Naiman (Jossey-Bass). Nissley’s contribution assists organization development practitioners who want to use storytelling as a means to enhance teamwork and organization effectiveness.

Dr. Shirley Polojewski, Accounting Department, presented a paper, "International Accounting Software Issues," at the 14th Asian-Pacific Conference on International Accounting Issues Nov. 26 in Los Angeles. During the conference she participated in a workshop, "E-Commerce and Accounting." She also moderated a section on "Studies in Capital Markets." The conference featured scholars from Singapore and Brazil as well as the United States.

James Rogers, Center for Irish Studies, addressed the Dec. 2 meeting of Gaeltacht Minnesota. His topic: "Irish Studies Today." Gaeltacht Minnesota is a voluntary group devoted to the teaching and learning of the Irish Language; its members have met regularly since 1982.

Mark Schneider, International Student Services, gave a presentation at the Region IV/V conference of NAFSA: Association of International Educators Nov. 10 in Chicago. His presentation was part of a workshop, "F-1 Regulations for Beginners," that provided information for 85 international student advisers from the Midwest. He also presented a session on "Being an Professional and a Parent: Can We Find a Balance?"

Sister Katarina Schuth, St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity, recently gave several presentations to seminary students and faculty and other groups. On Oct. 8, she spoke to the fa culty of Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit and the next day facilitated a workshop for priests of the Archdiocese of Detroit on "The Emerging Vision of Priestly Life and Ministry." On Oct. 14 and 15, she presented a public lecture on "Church, Ministry, Priesthood and the Future," at the American College in Louvain, Belgium. At the end of October, she worked with the faculty of the Theological College at the Catholic University of America on the topic of "Developing a Program of Formation for Celibate Chastity." On Nov. 26, she was the keynote speaker at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia for a symposium on "Human Development: the Priest and Affective Maturity." Her topic was "Human and Spiritual Formation for Priestly Service." She also presented a workshop for faculty of the seminary on "Seminarians and Formation for Priesthood Today." Her review of Goodbye Father: The Celibate Male Priesthood and the Future of the Catholic Church, appeared in the Nov. 11 issue of America magazine.